Tent.



F. A. LEAV'ITT.

Patented July 19, 1910.

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THE uonms PE7ERS 0a., w'AsHlNcroN, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

FRANCIS A. LEAVITT, 0F WOODFORDS, MAINE.

TENT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS A. LEAVIIT, citizen of the United States, residing at Woodfords, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tents, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tents and has for an object the provision of a tent of a novel design having certain advantages over those heretofore used.

In using tents as heretofore constructed it has been difiicult to secure thorough ventilation and change of air except by opening both ends and permitting a draft to sweep through the tent. This expedient is objectionable in many instances, particularly where a tent is utilized for sleeping purposes, as in the open air treatment for tuberculosis, etc., where a direct draft must be avoided.

With these considerations in view the present invention contemplates a tent of such construction that one side thereof may be rolled up, thus opening the tent to such an extent that complete change of air is effected, but without an objectionable draft.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a tent requiring no more than the usual quantity of cloth in its construction, but being of such design and proportions as to cover a greater area than is covered by the ordinary wall tent. It has been discovered that these results may be accomplished by extending one side of the tent continuously to the ground, and by arranging the other side to serve as a curtain which may be rolled up to permit access to the tent, the latter wall or curtain being located nearer to the center of the tent than the side wall of an ordinary tent.

In addition to the advantages above set forth a tent constructed in accordance with my invention possesses the advantage of simplicity in construction which tends to lower the cost thereof. Moreover, fewer guy ropes are necessary than formerly, those on one side being dispensed with entirely and the cloth staked directly to the ground. On the other side of the tent two or more guy ropes may be stretched from the point where the vertical wall or curtain meets the sloping roof to the ground and the cloth of this curtain may be attached to a pole or rod about which it may be rolled and which, of course, tends to keep the cloth flat and free Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. November 11, 1909.

Patented July 19, 1910. Serial No. 527,382.

from wrinkles on that side of the center. This arrangement is particularly advantageous since it insures a smooth setting of the cloth and allows no slack in the roof of the tent which would be likely to hold water and thus cause leaks.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing means whereby, when desired, the side or wall which serves as a curtain may be held out from the tent in substantial alinement with the roof and so form a canopy, thus sheltering in a measure the open side of the tent and at the same time bringing considerable additional area under cover.

The advantages above set forth and others incident to the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which a Figure l is a view in perspective of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the curtain being lowered to close the tent, and Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the curtain held out from the tent to form a canopy.

The tent is supported by the usual poles comprising the uprights 2 and 4- and the horizontal or ridge pole 6. On one side of this the cloth extends continuously to the ground like one side of an A-tent, and is staked to the ground by a series of stakes 8 extending at suitable intervals across the lower edge. On the other side of the ridge pole the cloth extends as a continuous piece for a short distance toward the ground at substantially the same inclination as the side first mentioned and is then provided with a fringe 13 and with a hem stiffened by a pole 9 which makes the cloth lie smoothly over the ridge pole and makes good holding for the guy ropes 10. As illustrated one guy rope is shown extending from each end of the hem but it will be apparent that one or more intermediate guy ropes may be employed if necessary. The standing portion "of the tent is completed by the two permanent end portions 11 and 12, each of which is in shape a non-symmetrical quadrilateral. The two upper sides of the end oortions are attached to the inclined ed 'es of the walls above described, while the lower edge may be secured to the ground in the usual manner.

Attached to the tent at the hem is the vertical wall or curtain 14 having its lower edge attached to a pole 15 about which it may be rolled. Ordinarily this portion closes the tent by falling vertically from the hem to the ground but if desired it may be kept rolled up more or less for ventilation as is indicated in Fig. 1. By rolling the curtain up to the hem 9, practically the entire side of the tent is thrown open. The curtain 14 may also be utilized as a canopy or awning by being swung outwardly and held by the ropes 16 in such position. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 2 and it will be seen that, beside serving as a protection for the open side of the tent, the curtain 14 serves to bring considerable additional area under cover, and so adds greatly to the convenience of the tent.

Beside the obvious advantages incident to the novel shape of a tent constructed in accordance with my invention it should be noted that the area covered by such a tent is 10% to 20% greater than the area covered by a wall tent in the construction of which the same number of yards of cloth is employed.

l/Vhile I have not shown a fly in either of the accompanying illustrations, it should be understood that such may be used in connection with the tent if desired, although on account of the smooth setting of the cloth forming the tent it is not likely to leak and so in most cases a fly is superfluous.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A tent of the class described, having,

in combination, supporting means, side por tions extending over said supporting means as a continuous piece, one of said side portions having provision whereby it may be staked to the ground and an edge of the other being provided with a hem at a point above the ground sufiiciently high to permit a person to walk thereunder, a stiiiening pole for said hem, guy ropes connected therewith, a curtain attached at one edge to said hem and having a pole attached to its other edge and means for swinging said second pole outwardly and upwardly.

2. A tent of the class described, having, in combination, a supported ridge pole, permanently closed end portions, side portions extending over said ridge pole, one of said side portions having provision whereby it may be staked to the ground and the other extending a short distance from said ridge pole and being provided with a hem at a point above the ground sui'liciently high to permit a person to walk thereunder, stifiiening means for said hem, guy ropes connected therewith, a curtain attached by one edge to said hem and having a pole attached to its other edge and means for swinging said pole outwardly and upwardly.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS A. LEAVITT.

lVitnesses JOHN J GooDY, HARRY L. CRAM. 

